If I Die Young
by Caffeine Induced
Summary: [NOT COMPLETE] Trigon wants to bring destruction down on earth but Raven doesn't want that to happen and she knows just how to keep her father from ever arriving-by killing herself. Enter Damian Wayne, aka Robin who thinks there are better ways to fix what's coming. If only it were so easy.
1. chapter 1

**RAVEN**

The clouds in the sky obscure every star, plane, and satellite. There is nothing and no one to bear witness to Raven as she stands on the roof of a thirty story building.

The soft light graces her features, giving her skin a porcelain quality and making the red of her lips deeper and accentuating their natural pout.

She knows she is beautiful--and that is not vanity speaking, but truth.

As part demon everything about her appearance is meant to be alluring: from the color of her hair to the sound of her voice.

She is a miracle, you know.

Her father tried for years and years to have a daughter only to be met with failure. But he always gets what he wants in the end, as she has learned from the many torturous years she spent with him.

It is time for this miracle to die.

Even the the wind agrees. It blows from behind her in strong, inconsistent gusts. Strands of her own purple hair dance in front of her.

This building is under construction so her body won't be discovered until morning. It is a comforting thought, as grim as it may sound.

With the tips of her shoes just barely poking out over the edge, she looks out towards the city covered in smog. It is filthy and reeks of sin. Farther out, there are better places. Places worth being saved. People worth dying for.

Raven closes her eyes and extends her arms out wide, like a bird ready to fly. With the next gust of wind she rises on her toes and teeters forward off the ledge. For a pristine moment, she really can convince herself she is flying. Having never been one for idle fantasies, she opens her eyes.

She is falling. Her instincts try to kick in but with a will of steel she fights the urge to simply fly as the ground comes at her at an alarming rate.

This needs to happen, and yet even as she remains determined to fall, she finds herself forced off course by something hard slamming into her side and knocking the wind out of her.

She processes arms wrapping around her and the impact lessened by them once propelled back into the building she jumped off of.

Glass sprinkles the ground and she feels a few stray shards make it past her human shield and slice her shins in a few odd places.

Once she remembers how to breathe, Raven registers she has rolled to a stop atop her 'rescuer's' body and is half wrapped in a sturdy yellow material that seems to have also been used to shield from the glass.

Not dead, she tells herself. Saved by a bird in flamboyant colors.

She shoves off of the costumed guy and glares at him as he quickly stands, assessing the damage made to the room--nothing here but a few stray tools and a sea of support beams.

Raven has only been on Earth a week or so, but she knows who this is. "Robin," she says, more to herself than him.

He jerks his attention back to her. "That was a stupid thing to do."

She can't see his eyes behind the mask but she has a feeling he's glaring at her. The nerve of it!

"Hey, I wasn't calling out for help," she growls at him. "Don't you have more important things to be doing? I'm sure if you put a light in the sky your bat will find you."

They say if you speak of the devil, he will come. Not true. But it must be so for the Dark Knight because he glides in through the window in that exact moment.

"Good work Robin," Batman says in a deep and obviously false voice.

"Apparently I shouldn't have bothered." Robin strides to the broken window and leans down to see the street below. He's not leaving but has clearly dismissed Raven as Batman's problem.

Batman pauses, gauging how to approach the obviously miffed teenager who just tried to kill herself. "Your parents must be worried about you," he says carefully.

"Don't patronize me," she snaps back.

Robin turns back and says, in a considerably less gentle tone, "How about you tell us why you jumped off the building. Two more seconds and you would be dead."

"I slipped," is her sarcastic reply.

"Let's get you back home," Batman says.

"I have no home." Making another attempt on her own life with these two around would just be stupid so she turns to leave by way of stairs. "And if you think I'm going anywhere with you then you've got another thing com--hey!"

Something stabs into her side and she spins around to glare at the bat. She immediately summons her powers but whatever she's been injected with takes effect and the glowing blue energy emitting from her palms quickly fades.

Both Batman and Robin mark the magic coming from her hands with a down tilt of their heads and a flare of surprise in their otherwise stoic emotional walls.

Raven stumbles and barely lets out a breath before darkness envelopes her. When she wakes up, she finds herself laying on an uncomfortable bench under the glare of florescent lights.

The sounds of the world slowly comes back into focus. She is surrounded by the sound of paper rusteling, phones ringing, and indistinguishable voices.

She sits up and stares at the men and women in uniform and glances down to make sure she isn't hand cuffed like those on wooden benches across the room.

The police station.

"My heroes," she mutters, sitting up.

"Hey kid, come on over here." An officers with a friendly smile gestures to the chair across from her. Once Raven does as she's told, the police woman says, "Robin brought you in. He believes you're a run away."

Raven doesn't reply, but she can sense genuine concern coming from this woman so she forces the scowl off her face, opting for a neutral expression.

"What's your name sweetheart?"

"Raven," she replies.

The woman nods, writing it down. "Alright, and can you tell me where you live?"

"Nowhere. My parents are dead."

Sadness flows off the woman and Raven decides she likes her. Her compassion is admirable, Raven hasn't met many people like that and none since coming to Gotham.

Maybe it's that kindness that lulls Raven into letting herself her be processed and eventually taken to a place where children without families go.

It's not until she's sitting on her assigned bunk bed while other kids run around in the halls that she realizes how stupid she was.

She really should have just teleported herself out of the police station. Will killing herself in this place scar these other kids?

Meh.

Not that big of a concern. Besides, she's seen plenty of dead and she's turned out alright.

Sort of.

Sighing, she hops of the top bunk and closes the door of the room, instantly muffling the noises in the hall.

From the hall someone says, "Oooh, she shut the door!"

"That's against the rules," another whispers.

"I'm telling!"

Footsteps speed away and Raven growls. She'll have to make this quick then.

Without room for second thoughts, she strides to the dresser where a clutter of colored papers and glitter sit.

One of the kids was crafting something that to her looks like a purple dinosaur.

She picks up a pair of lime green safety scissors and with the strength of her demon blood rams it into her neck and pulls it out in one swift motion.

 **ROBIN** Robin can't believe what has become of himself. As the future Batman he should be given more respect than this. Surely the likes of Blue Beetle or Red Hood can be doing this.

It's a good thing no one can see him perched in this tree. The bird jokes would never stop. It's things like this that keep people from taking him seriously.

He has much better things to be doing than running surveillance on a moody teenager.

Bored, he watches her hop off the bed and slam the door shut. Then she picks up some scissors and stabs the artery in her neck.

Robin curses and swings out of the tree, running to the window and easily sliding it open.

By the time he gets inside the girl is laying on the floor with blood pooling onto the hardwood floor.

She isn't even trying to stop the bleeding so Robin kneels down and presses a hand to her neck.

"Hold still," he instructs.

But already the blood loss is too much. He's seen a countless number of people bleed out so he knows it's too late. The blood that manages to ooze through his fingers slows to a stop, as does her breathing.

"Dead," he tells himself.

For some odd reason, his nerves are still on edge as if they know more is coming. He knows to trust his instincts but he's not exactly sure what they're trying to tell him.

Robin breathes deeply and considers his options.

He'll have to tell Batman of course. But should he simply leave this matter for the coroner? There is something about this definately not sitting right.

The pounding of footsteps in the hall reminds him of the others present and he quickly goes to the door and wedges a chair under the knob.

The blood on his gloves smears onto both the door and chair.

He contacts Batman while setting to work with cleaning traces of another person having been present.

"Robin I'm busy."

"We have a problem." Robin stares down at the girl who's purple hair is soaking up blood.

"What happened?"

"The girl is dead. I didn't reach her in time."

"How?"

Robin squats down and examines the scissors still clutched in her hand. "That's the thing, she did it with a pair of safety scissors. Stabbed herself in the neck." Robin presses his lips together, thinking. "She didn't even hesitate."

"Get out of there," Batman says with a hint of weariness in his tone. "I need you back at the cave. There's something happening in Egypt the League has just gotten word of."

Before Robin even stands up, the girl begins to glow a soft blue light and sparks shoot across her skin.

Robin curses in his native tongue and shoots upright. On the other end of his communicator, Batman mumbles a curse of his own.

"Scratch that Robin, looks like it's too late." This time Batman doesn't try to hide the exaustion in his voice. "They're all dead."

"What a coincidence," Robin replies, fighting to keep his voice calm. "Mine just woke up."


	2. Chapter 2

**Author's Note: Hey readers, I can't believe I almost forgot to mention my inspiration for this story! It came to me while reading Home by NIGHT09, you should definately go check it out!** **Enjoy!**

 **RAVEN**

Raven lived with her mother for ten years before her father came and stole her away. During her time with him she never kept secret how much she hated him and the life she was made to live.

Trigon did not care how loud she voiced her opinions though because they both knew there was nothing she could do about it.

For the most part she was allowed to do as she pleased save for the occasional mandatory participation in terrorizing a civilization or two but the place itself was a living nightmare she could never wake from.

Screams were so common a phenomenon that only silence was strange. No one ever turned their heads to see who was in distress.

Yet even for all her defiance Raven was the favored of Trigon's seven children. Her six older brothers could never earn the amount of attention she was gifted.

Maybe that is why they helped her escape; for their chance to stand beside their father in glory.

In retrospect Raven should have been concerned with how unconcerned her father was when she escaped.

"You're not dead."

The voice intrudes her dazed thoughts.

She lifts her head from its uncomfortable position and blinks away her disorientation. She's tied to a chair in what looks like a warehouse.

The Dark Knight's sidekick is standing in front of her looking annoyed.

Raven considers how to approach this situation and settles for the angry captive.

"Why the hell am I tied to a chair? I haven't done anything wrong."

"You died approximately forty seven minutes ago. Five minutes after that, you came back to life. Explain."

"Were you _following_ me? You're crazy," she spits. "I demand you set me loose. Batman would never let this stand."

Robin remains undeterred and pulls a device from his pocket and shows her a birds eye view of--

"A small village in eastern Egypt was slaughtered today." He tosses the device in her lap and she can't seem to look away from the image.

"Their time of death coincides with the exact moment you came back to life." He braces himself on the arms of her chair. "I know a blood resurrection when I see one."

She knows of course the lengths taken to bring her back to life, but she's never actually _seen_ it.

Raven looks up, keeping careful control of her expression. "I didn't kill them."

"No, but someone did--and they did it on _your_ behalf." He turns and takes three steps away. "Until I find out why, you will be considered dangerous and put into a secure holding facility."

Raven considers her options carefully. She doesn't doubt Robin will make good on the threat. She can escape right now if she catches him off guard but she knows he and Batman might come after her even then.

Trying to stay dead is hard enough.

She had hoped falling from a building would mutilate her body enough to delay a resurrection but that was foiled and she was reduced to stabbing herself.

She has been out maneuvered for the time being. Annoyed, she curses at Robin in the language of the monks, then in two kinds of demon tongue.

"I'm not saying another word until Batman comes."

Unfortunately for her, she didn't notice he's been crouched on the beams running across the ceiling this whole time.

He jumps down and lands solidly on two feet. How he manages to look intimidating in broad daylight is beyond her.

"Unless you tell us what we want to know your headed strait to a holding facility," Batman say.

She widens her eyes and lets her hair fall over part of her face in order to seem more vulnerable. "Please let me go, I haven't done anything wrong! I promise I won't tell anyone about this."

Apparently it's too late to play the clueless captive. Batman says, "Who brought you back to life?"

She waits seven seconds but the pair of stoic expressions don't relent. "My father."

"One person can not organize a mass murderer in a matter of minutes. We want names," Robin says.

Raven scoffs. "It was only him, and if you're thinking about going after him, forget it. He's not living in this dimension."

They study her again in silence.

Raven wonders if she should say more but is reluctant to tell them the whole story in case they decide the best place for her is in a cell she can never leave.

Robin speaks first. "You're clearly unsurprised by the actions of your father. So why kill yourself in the first place?"

How is it heroes always know the right questions to ask?

"Because I need to die," she replies. They wait for her to elaborate but instead she wiggles in her chair. "Can I go now?"

"Not if you're going to kill yourself again. You're not the one that's getting hurt by your suicide attempts," Batman gesture to the screen in her lap, "they are."

"I'm trying to keep everyone from dying," she defends. "You don't know what my father is like. He wants to rule Earth--no one wants that. I'm the only one who can open the portal that will allow him to enter this demension."

"You are a coward," Robin declares. "Dying is not a solution. You're just giving up."

"Dying is the only way I know how to stop this!"

"Fighting is the only way to win."

"You don't get it." She glares at Robin. "You don't just fight my father. People _hide_ and pray he doesn't find them."

Batman silences any retort Robin might give with the lift of his hand. He kneels down so he's eye level with Raven.

"I understand you're trying to save lives, but by killing yourself it's you killing the people being used to bring you back. There is no point in stopping your father if these people you want to help will die anyway. You don't want this to happen again, do you?"

Raven looks at the image again, wishing the screen would time out and turn black.

How many times has she died? How many times did she kill herself even knowing it wouldn't work?

Too many.

"No."

"Neither do we. Now I need you to promise me you won't try it again. Robin and I can find another solution."

"It's been prophesied," Raven replies. "Men can't stop prophecy. Only gods and demons."

Batman's mouth presses into a grim line but she can practically taste his hubris. He's the kind of man who thinks he can do anything.

"How soon?" Robin asks.

"Two months."

"Then we have two months to figure out a plan," Batman says. "In the meantime, you will not do _anything_. Let me handle it. Deal?"

"You have to promise me one thing. When day comes and you haven't found a solution, you have to kill me. As many times as it takes."

It might be pointless, but she has to at least try.

"Deal," Batman replies.

He is lying, but she doesn't call him out on it.

"In the mean time, how can we know you will keep your end of the bargain?"

"I guess you'll have to trust me." Raven tugs on her restraints. "Can you let me go now?"

"Full disclosure," Batman insists. "What are your abilities?"

"I'm am empath."

"And the blue glow?" Robin asks.

"Magic," she replies, lifting her palms up for a demonstration.

They both tense, ready for anything. She rolls their eyes at their overreaction and voices a small chant that makes the bindings on her wrists and legs undo themselves.

"I also have telekenisis." She stands. "Can I go now?"

"You will only use your abilities in self defense. Understood?"

Raven huffs and crosses her arms. "This compromise is feeling more like I might as well be locked up."

She considers also mentioning her telepathy but decides not to. She doesnt read peoples minds-- _ever_ \--but it will just give them a reason not to trust her.

"Trust is not good enough," Robin says to Batman. "We should lock her up."

"Standing right here," Raven snaps.

"Robin is right," Batman says. "I want someone with eyes on you, to look out for you and to make sure you keep your word."

"Do you know many people willing to put up with a stray?" she challenges.

He smiles and Raven finds it unnerving. Bats should not smile. "In fact I do--an old . . . friend of mine."


	3. Chapter 3

**RAVEN**

There are worse things in the world than getting fostered by billionaire Bruce Wayne.

In the silence that stretches between he and Raven on the way to his house, she thinks of several dozen.

She studies him shamelessly. He's sitting in a relaxed manner across from her. She supposes he's never had to worry about a thing in his life and his easy smiles serve as proof.

"Tell me about yourself Rachel," Mr. Wayne finally says.

"I'm a virgo," she replies.

He smiles thinly, clearly unamused.

"So how does this work?" she asks. "You keep me out of trouble and the bat goes off into the night to solve all my problems?"

"It's best you don't mention the Batman to anyone. He's not exactly good for my reputation and if word gets around that he's got ties to you we'll never be able to leave the manor without being swarmed by the press."

"Fine by me. How do you know him anyway?" Batman and Robin returned her to the home and not three hours later she was out of there officially.

"I don't. I received an anonymous email detailing your situation and I knew I had to help."

"How much detail?" She eyes the folder resting beside him on the seat.

"Everything he knows, but I'm going to guess there's more that you didn't share."

She crosses her arms. "He knows what's relevant."

They leave it at that and soon enough they're pull up to Wayne Manor. An elderly man stands at the base of the steps in a crisp suit and readily opens the limo door.

Raven grudgingly accepts the hand offered to help her out.

"Welcome to your new home," Mr. Wayne says once he too climbs out.

More like a mansion. It's bigger than the temple she lived in and likely thrice as complex inside. Then again, it's nothing compared to her home in her father's realm but she has a feeling this place will be far more accommodating.

"I understand this is a big transition for you so Alfred here will show you to your rooms to get settled and you can meet my son at dinner."

"Right this way, Miss Rachel," the butler says.

Raven follows him through a maze of halls and stairs. He doesn't say anything but he hums a melody under his breath and Raven can sense nothing noticeable save for a small trickle of worry.

He probably thinks she's going to swipe some of the valuables or something.

"Here we are Miss Rachel. I took the liberty of acquiring various articles of clothing that should do until we take you shopping."

She steps inside and Alfred says, "Dinner will be served in three hours. Shall I come retrieve you?"

There's no way she's finding her way through the halls without getting lost. "Yes." Remembering her manners she hastily adds, "Thank you, Alfred."

She was raised by demons, after all--not wild animals.

 **DAMIAN**

Without having to check the trackers he placed on them, Damian knows Alfred and Bruce are in the foyer. Their voices carry.

"Miss Rachel is upstairs," Alfred is informing Bruce. "I will get started on dinner. Do you have any requests?"

"Anything will do," Bruce replies absently. "How is she?"

"She didn't say much, but she is very polite."

"To you maybe," Damian says, stepping into the room. "She cursed at me in three different languages. None I've heard before."

"Then how do you know she cursed you?" Bruce asks, amused.

"It's all in the infliction, father. By the way, I took the liberty of installing sensors on the hinges of her balcony and main door, along with the windows."

"Good thinking Damian," Bruce praises. "Have it alert yours, mine, and Alfred's phones."

"Master Bruce, I would suggest having Master Richard over sometime soon. He too was an orphan and may be able to help Miss Rachel through her difficulties. You do not have a gentle way with words, forgive me for saying so."

"See if he's available for breakfast tomorrow."

"I shall ring him up immediately," Alfred replies.

Damian's mood immediately improves. Dick is the most tolerable of his brothers and having him over, even for just a day, will certainly get his father to see reason with this whole 'babysit the witch' order he's given to Damian.

 **RAVEN**

Raven stands in the center of her room unsure of how to proceed. Everything seems too pristine to be touched. Even the hardwood floors seem to polished to walk on.

She also doesn't miss the fact that her balcony doors are locked with a key and all surfaces are devoid of sharp objects.

Just to be sure, she jiggels the knob of the balcony doors. It doesn't budge so with a sigh she decides she might as well get cleaned up for dinner.

The bathroom is so ridiculously large, it has its own fireplace. Raven scoffs and turns on the water to the shower, basking under its heat long enough for the air to steam up.

When she's done she wraps herself in a towel and steps though another door that leads to the large but nearly empty closet.

The appropriate clothes brought are variations of blouses and skirts or kaki pants. After some digging she finds a pair of plaid shorts made of wool and pairs them with a black blouse.

Even after she brushes out her hair and lets it air dry she can't get comfortable in her own skin.

Back home with her father she wouldn't be able to fully relax knowing the servants report her every move to her father. The buzz if her nerves is something she has learned to live with and she doubts will ever be out grown.

Honestly, what is she thinking? Everything would have been so much easier if she was more like her brothers and father. She wouldn't be in this mess right now if she just accepted her fate already.

Still . . . She is relatively safe now, or at least as safe as anyone can make her and so she decides to do something she hasn't done since she was a child in Azarath: meditate.

A knock on the door interrupts after a while. She gets up and pulls it open to find the friendly butler. "Dinner will be served momentarily Miss Rachel."

"Okay, I'm ready. And I prefer to be called Raven. Only my mother called me Rachel."

"Then Raven it shall be."

He leads shows her to a large dining room where Mr. Wayne is already seated at one end of the table and on the other end the son she has yet to meet.

"Miss Raven for dinner, sir." Alfred emphasizes the use of her name and Mr. Wayne acknowledges it with a nod.

Alfred shows her to her seat, an equal distance from both Wayne's.

"Raven this is Damian, my son. Damian this is Raven."

Raven wonders if he was told everything aswell.

"Hello Damian. It's nice to meet you." She offers a stiff smile he doesn't return.

"And you."

Raven studies Damian. He looks much like his father. Darker skin, but the same cool blue eyes and strong jaw. There is something almost cruel in the set of his lips.

"Where are you from Raven?" Mr. Wayne asks.

"I was born here in Gotham actually. After my mom died I didn't have anywhere to go so I figured I'd come back to where it all started."

"I guess dying here sounds poetic," Damian drawls.

"Damian," Mr. Wayne warns.

Raven narrows her eyes at him. She can see now that Damian Wayne is going to be almost as annoying as Robin.


	4. Chapter 4

**AUTHOR'S NOTE: _*pretends I wasn't MIA for several months*_**

 **Chapter 4**

Dick Grayson doesn't know what to expect when he pulls up to Wayne manor. Alfred didn't say much over the phone but he did give the impression it was critical he attend breakfast this morning.

Dick hasn't known Alfred to ever lie so here he is, having started driving before the sun rose for a six in the morning breakfast with his family.

"Ah, Master Richard, thank you for coming."

"It's no problem Alfred. Where are Bruce and Damian?"

"About to complete their morning training in the basement." Alfred leads the way to the kitchen where an elaborate breakfast has been set up.

That's a suspicious amount of food.

"What's all this about? Did something happen?" With a flash of worry he asks, "No one died again, did they?"

"Nothing serious, I assure you." Alfred pours Dick a cup of tea and says lightly, "Master Bruce has taken in another child."

Dick blinks. " _What_?"

"Temporarily."

"What is he thinking?" Dick shouts. "Bruce promised he wouldn't do this again! Every time he takes a kid under his wing they . . . change. How could you let him do this?"

"Settle down Master Richard, and keep your voice down. You're making this sound worse than it is. Miss Raven is a person of interest in a case, she needs to be kept under supervision."

"So she's staying _here_?"

"They could not very well have left her in foster care. She has abilities and some . . . suicidal tendencies."

"Then she needs specialized care! This isn't a good place to house mentally unstable children."

It's at this time Bruce enters the kitchen, fresh from a shower and dressed in a suit. "She's also dangerous."

"Dangerous how?" Dick demands.

"Alfred, would you go see what Raven is up too? Let her know breakfast is ready."

While Alfred goes to do as asked, Bruce explains everything he knows so far about this girl Raven and her connection to several massacres in the past months.

"She claims it was all her father's doing. She made mention of a prophecy but is very tight lipped about the whole thing. She knows we're trying to help but she doesn't seem to think she needs it."

Somewhat calmed, Dick mulls over the information. "And you're sure she came back to life? Resurrections aren't good, they could be affecting her mind just like--"

"We know. Sass is her only violent tendancy so far, aside from the suicide attempts." Bruce drags a hand down his face and takes a large drink of his orange juice.

He frowns at it like it's personally to blame for all his problems.

Maybe he's just upset Alfred severely cut down on the households caffeine intake.

 **RAVEN**

Raven woke up early, or what she thought was early. It turns out both father and son like to wake up at 4 in the morning just for kicks.

She heard Bruce on the first floor when she snuck down the stairs and as she's wandering down a hall Damian Wayne steps out of a random room, dressed like he's ready for a workout.

He frowns at her suspiciously. "What are you doing?"

"None of you business."

"Seeing as you're lurking outside my bedroom, it seems a logical question." Damian shuts his door firmly.

"As if anything you do is worth lurking in the hall for. Now that I know wha--" She cuts herself off and starts again with, "You know what? It's four in the morning, I'm so not doing this. Do you have a library?"

"Death by a thousand papercuts," Damian mutters.

"Tempting, but no. I need something to cure my boredom."

Damian humphs and stares her down with icy blue eyes. "First floor, down the hall left of the stairs, second door on the left."

"Thanks."

They head in opposite directions and she briefly wonders what a spoiled rich kid did to earn a nasty scar on his shoulder.

She finds the library exactly where he said and is pleasantly surprised at how big it is. There's bound to be something in here that can help her. But this is going to take a while.

With nothing to go on, she starts with the nearest shelf and pulls out books that looking useful, a large amount thought aren't even in English which is her third language to begin with.

She looses track of time during the mindless flipping through books, discarding them and grabbing new ones. It takes her an embarassing amount of time to realize the books are organized by genres.

The closest thing she finds to magic is the mythology section.

Groaning, Raven uses her shadows to return a book on Greeks gods where she got it from.

Can a person die from a thousand paper cuts? At this point she might be willing to try.

The thick door is pushed open revealing the butler. "Ah, there you are. Doing some reading?"

"Nothing interesting," she replies. "and a lot of it was in foreign languages."

"Perhaps we should take you to the public library sometime then." He steps to the side and says, "Breakfast is ready. We have a guest joining us today."

As he leads the way, Raven asks, "Who's the guest?" She assumes it to be some journalist from a magazine or news paper. She can already see the headline: _Billionaire Fosters Poor Orphan_.

"Master Richard. He is the oldest of Master Bruce's sons."

"I didn't know he had another son." The thought of having to deal with yet another spoiled rich kid makes her want to return to the library.

"He has three others besides Master Damian. Master Jason is traveling and Master Timothy is at a boarding school. All of them are adopted, except for Master Damian."

"Hm."

There's a murmured conversation coming from the kitchen area but when they get close enough to distinguish words the people inside fall silent.

Raven uses her abilities to feel out the room. There's two people inside, one is unfamiliar but the other she believes to be Mr. Wayne but she's only known him for two days so she can't say for sure.

Once they step inside her suspicions are confirmed. Mr. Wayne is wearing an immaculate suit, reading a newspaper.

Glancing up he says, "Good morning Raven, how did you sleep?"

"Fine, thank you."

As she takes a seat Bruce gestures to the young man at the table. "This is my son Richard."

"Nice to meet you," Raven says stiffly.

There is some hostility in the air and maybe some resentment bouncing between father and son but over all the son actually seems pretty normal.

She might even go as far as to say he looks kind but she knows very well looks can be deceiving.

Richard clears his throat, "Bruce was just filling me in on how you got to be here. Batman. He's pretty cool, huh?"

"Yeah. Nothing cooler than a grown man running around like it's halloween every night."

Richard hides his smile and Mr. Wayne asks Alfred, "Damian should have been down by now. Would you let him know we've started without him?"

"Of course, I'm sure he just lost track of time."

There's a long akward silence. Bruce picks his newspaper up and Richard smiles awkwardl, clear at a loss for what to say, as is Raven.

"Soooooo," he says. "Batman said something about a prophecy?"

Raven narrow her eyes at Richard.

"If Batman is this liberal with the things he says I'm surprised his identity is still a secret. Or did he tell you that too?"

"I wish," he replies but a jolt in his emotions tells her he might actually know batman's identity.

"I want to speak with him. I need to know what kind of progress he's made."

"Raven it's only been a day," Richard says reasonably.

"And you gave him next to nothing to go on," Mr. Wayne says. "That's why it's important you tell us everything you know. He can't help you otherwise."

"I'm supposed to believe your trying to help me? I don't know any of you and in the day I've been here the only thing you've done is lock the knife drawer and all the windows."

"You're misunderstanding the situation. We are trying to help you."

"I've lived with my father long enough to know what a prison feels like." Raven leaves, retreating back to her room.

Shutting the door behind her she teleports to the balcony of her room for the sake of doing what she's told not to.

Plopping herself down on the stone railing she contemplates again how to save the world.

Batman had a point. Killing herself isn't a viable option. And what else is there? She should have snagged a few spell books before she left her father's realm. She was so surprised by the chance to escape that she jumped on it without a plan or second thoughts.

The balcony door swings open and Raven glances back before dismissing the guest and looking back out at the ridiculously ornate front lawn.

Richard leans on railing and looks down the side of the building. "Thinking about jumping?"

"No," she replies, feeling his true concern.

A fall from this height wouldn't kill her anyway. It wouldn't even kill a normal human.

"How did you get the door open? It's locked."

"Picked it. My brother Jason taught me how. Do you have any siblings?"

"Look, Richard," she says with an irritated sigh.

"Everyone calls me Dick."

"And you let them?" She shakes her head, quickly dismissing her own question. "I'm not in the mood to talk about myself."

"Okay, then let's talk about me." When she doesn't protest he says, "I'm an orphan. My parents died when I was a kid. I was an only child so after that, I didn't have anyone else in the world. Except Bruce. It took me a long time to open up and trust him."

"I wish I was an orphan." Raven frowns, thinking of her father and brothers.

"Who is he, your father?"

"He has a lot of names. Skaath; Devil; Ddrez. Really, he's just a monster." Raven stares out at the lawn, idly swinging her legs. "If I knew how to kill him I'd do it in a heartbeat."

"I know all about wanting someone dead. Hating a man so much for everything they took from you. You think that when he's dead, things will be better."

"It will be."

"I promise you it won't. That anger will still be there. It'll have no where to go and start eating you up."

"You don't get it. When I say he's a monster, I mean it literally. Red skin, horns, the size of a skyscraper. No one can stand against him. He takes what he wants. He thinks he's a god."

"If you believed that you wouldn't be here trying to stop him."

Raven huffs and looks away. "Well I have to try, don't I?"

"And why not let Batman help you? And Bruce, for that matter?"

"Anyone who helps me dies."

Her father believed pain makes you strong.

Anyone who ever showed a fraction of kindness toward Raven was killed for "trying to taint his dear daughter with the soft whims of mortals."

"Like you said," Dick replies optimistically, "can't hurt to try. And we'll all be dead if it doesn't work anyway, right?"

Raven pauses. "I guess that's true . . ."

Dick smiles, seeing he's given her something to think about. "Lets get you off the balcony. You'll give Alfred a heart attack."

 **DICK**

Raven hops down from the railing and they leave the room together. when her purple hair falls over one side of her face she doesn't brush it out of the way which is when he notices the frown on her face.

He says, "You should take a walk in the yard. That always helps clear my head."

"I don't think I'm allowed outside. They think I'll run away."

"Will you?" She makes a face Dick can't decipher the meaning of. "Just go on out, I'll tell them I let you."

"See you around Dick." She leaves, giving no indication of weather or not she's going to do what he suggested.

Teenagers.

Deciding to go find his brother, Dick looks from him first in the 'basement' and then in his room. Eventually he finds him in his third favorite room in the house: the library.

"You missed breakfast."

"I wasn't hungry."

Damian is standing in the middle of the room with his eyes firmly locked on the shelves several feet away from him. If Dick didn't know any better he'd say Damian looks startled. A quick glance out the window tells Dick all he needs to know.

Raven is out in the back garden, pacing back and forth around the roses.

"You shouldn't skip meals like you do. Alfred works hard to make things how you like them. There wasn't a scrap of bacon in sight, you would have loved it."

Damian hums indifferently but Dick can tell by his slight pause that he hadn't considered this before.

"I also met Raven."

"Has father told you he has me watching her like I'm some pay by the hour babysitter?"

"That's not how he phrased it, but yes." He squints at his brother and a smile creeps up onto his face. "She's very pretty."

Damian busys himself by pulling a book of the shelf and carelessly flipping through it, giving no response.

Dick smirks. "So you did notice."

"Don't be foolish Grayson. This is business. I don't care how gorgeous she is, she's a serious danger to herself and others. She should be in a padded cell."

"You want to punish her for trying to save lives?"

"She's only getting more people killed. And this story about her father, we have nothing but her word to go by. While we're wasting our time looking for ways to stop prophecies people will continue to be sacrificed by the dozens because of what she's doing."

"Look Damian, I get where you're coming from but I think you need to put yourself in her shoes."

They both look out the window to the garden where Titus has since started running circles around Raven like a puppy with no self respect.

"When I spoke to her she said her father is monster. I think she doesn't want people to suffer at his hands like she did."

Raven finally gives in and kneels down to give him a head rub. He repays her by liking her chin.

"She's just a girl," Dick says, "and she may not show it, but she is afraid. She was trying to help--"

"And failing," Damian interrupts.

"--the only way she knows how to. Help her help us."

Damian frowns and glances back out the window. "And how exactly do you propose I help her?"

Dick shrugs to that. "Be her friend? You both could use one."


	5. Chapter 5

**RAVEN**

Raven can sees the two brothers through the window of the library but she ignores them. She can't quite figure out what to make of them. They seem so ordinary--as ordinary as a millionaire's family can be--but there has to be something more to them.

They know batman for crying out loud. She'd like to think the man has better instincts then to send her to some family he doesn't trust with a girl he definitely can't and doesn't trust.

After a while she gets tired of having the big dog following her around and goes to the window of the library just as Dick leaves the room.

Raven taps on the window. Damian frowns and unhooks the latch, swinging the window open.

She looks up at hi, cursing the height of the foundation, and rests her hands on the window sill. "You know batman, right?" she asks. "Like you can get in touch with him?"

"Yes," he replies, studying her.

 _What makes you so special?_

"Good." She holds her hands out to him. "Help me inside. I have to show you something."

He glances back at the door. "Why don't you just go around?"

"I don't know the way well enough."

"Then I'll meet you at the door."

"If you don't want to help me just say so," Raven scoffs, dropping her hands back to the window sill and searching for a foot hold on the wall. "I'll get in myself."

"You can't get in like that," Damian says leaning out to watch her foot slip from it's position before she can push herself up.

"I got it."

"You really don't."

"Then help me," she replies, her foot slipping again.

Damian hesitates then sighs and leans down to grab her by the waist. As soon as her feet touch the hardwood floor she releases her arms from around his neck and goes to the shelves.

"I came in here to find information on how I can stop my father," she explains as she grabs choice books off the shelves.

"Did you?"

"No," she admits, "but look."

She sets down the stacks of books and flips open the top one; an old children's book written in German. She points to a drawing of monster taller than the trees. He's roaring as the village people cower in fear.

"That's my father."

"That's a children's book."

She rolls her eyes and grabs the next book and next, flipping them to the correct pages and laying them out for him to see. All the books are different genres: persian lore, fairy tales, religious testaments.

"He's mentioned in all of them, in one form or another. He's ancient and he created a fear that spanned across the earth last time he came."

Damian looks from one book to the next, a crease forming between his eyebrows.

"I want you to understand what I'm up against," she tells him. "Explain it to Batman. I need them to understand. I know he doesn't really believe me."

"These are all referring to manifestations of evil," Damian says. "All cultures have stories like this. None if this proves anything."

"Fine, I don't need _you_ to believe me. Just tell him to look for the prophecy about the Gem. Once he finds that he'll know what he's dealing with. My father isn't just a story, he's _the_ story. He's the embodiment of evil and he needs to be stopped."

"I'll tell him."

"Do it now."

"I said I'll tell him," Damian snaps.

Raven makes a face at him and leaves the library in favor of finding a room in this place far enough away that she won't feel the emotional presence of the Wayne's.

They all have a mental wall around their emotions, the butler included, but that doesn't stop her senses from trying to feel them out anyway. It's like rubbing her face against sandpaper.

"Miss Raven, I'm glad I found you."

Wincing, Raven tries to backtrack down the hall but the duel smiles of Dick and Alfred lock her in place.

"Al and I were thinking maybe you'd like to go shopping for new clothes, get out of the manor for a bit. Would you like that?"

Would she like to get away from the insufferable Damian Wayne? "Hell yes."

o0o0o

"I don't understand why I had to come along," Damian mutters from the back seat.

"I don't understand how Dick here ended up having the most fun," Raven says.

"Come on guys, that _was_ fun," Dick says with a wide smile. "Did you see that woman's face when I told her you guys were my kids?"

"You could have just told her you weren't interested," Damian criticizes.

Dick frowns and Raven grows concerned that this idea genuinely never occurred to him.

"Raven," Damian drawls, "I've been thinking. If your father is powerful and he wants you back as badly as you claim, why does he not just come get you?"

"He lives in a different dimension, he can't come here unless I open the portal for him."

"And how did you escape his all powerful grasp in the first place?"

"My brothers smuggled me out. I've got about twenty thousand of them but only six lived under the same room as me."

"No sisters?" Dick asks politely.

Raven shakes her head. "I'm special that way. I'm stronger than my brothers, that's why there's only ever been me female demons hold more power than their bodies can handle."

Her brother's told her stories about before she was conceived. Trigon would pace the throne room when he though no one was around.

"Just one," he would mutter. "The cosmos dare not deny me this."

"Did you say demon?" Dick says, glancing at her.

"How many times do I have to tell you people? My father is the definition of evil."

Honestly, what makes these humans so special? Clearly not their intelligence. they're very slow on the uptake, although if she's reading their minimal emotions right, it looks like they believe her now.


End file.
